Bresha Webb Talks ‘Run the World,’ ‘HouseBroken’ + Booking the Gig

The following interview for Backstage’s on-camera series The Slate was compiled in part by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming interviews and to submit your questions.

You’ve seen her in 2016’s “Meet The Blacks,” Netflix’s “A Fall From Grace,” and  alongside Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, and the star-studded cast of “Night School.” Now, Bresha Webb brings life to the character Renee on Starz’s hit new comedy series “Run The World.” The female–led, Black-centered series from creator Leigh Davenport follows a group of fiercely loyal friends navigating love and life in Harlem. Webb recently joined Backstage on Instagram Live to chat about her winding journey in the business and the advice she has for fellow actors for both on-camera and voiceover work, the latter of which has kept her booked and busy through the pandemic. 

Webb feels very connected to her character Renee.
“It was crazy. My manager and team hit me up and they said that this character Renee was just like me. And I had been waiting for something like that, you know, that just was a lot like me, my personality, and something that I could definitely identify with. The character description was ‘a chihuahua in heels.’ I was like ‘Oh my goodness! I have a chihuahua, I’m always in heels!’ ” 

Still though, much preparation was required.
“It was in a different gear than I’m used to doing. And I had to prepare. I was the most nervous, really even on set, because it was something different. Like, showing the vulnerability of myself that I haven’t really shown in a comedic way. It was like putting on a new pair of shoes and getting the gears in. I was so nervous, and that’s how I knew it was something really special.”

Webb attended a performing arts high school in Baltimore, and then the California Institute of the Arts.
“CalArts has a very experimental theater program, so it was cool for me to get my foundational work from Baltimore School for the Arts. I do say, first of all: training is everything. You have to train in order to be a successful actor. So I was happy I got my foundational work at Baltimore School for the Arts, and doing Stanislavsky Method and all of those kinds of things. And then go to Cal Arts and just throw it out, you know? Just have fun and improv and crawl on the floor and be a tree. Also they have an animation department, because it’s the Disney school. And lots of people don’t know this, but my first gig in L.A. was doing animation. I  lived on the animator floor in the dorm, and a lot of the animators were afraid to ask actors to be a part of their projects, so they would just ask each other to do the voices. I overheard them talking and I was like, ‘Oh this girl got a sponsorship or some type of thing from “Sesame Street,” and she’s looking for a little Black boy voice.’ And I was like, ‘I can do a little Black boy voice, that’s nothing,’ you know? And I’m goofy, so I was like, ‘Yeah I could play around and do some shit, that makes sense.’ And I went in and I did it and my first gig was on ‘Sesame Street,’ and that helped me get into a voiceover agency.”

She recommends branching out into a range of projects.
“If I have to stress anything to new actors: Don’t just look at on-camera work. Look at behind the camera. Look at so many other things that can make your gift stand out. Because it might be one thing, it might be two things. I’m on a cartoon right now that’s on Fox, ‘House Broken,’ and a lot of people don’t know that I do cartoons. I have been doing that alongside, and when I haven’t been able to book on-camera work, [I have] my voiceover acting work So get into the multiple streams, OK? You know there’s checks in all of these areas. So if you wanna work, you have to seek it out and you have to really think about what you can do outside of being on camera.”

Finally, Webb encourages aspiring actors to keep working and persevering.
“Seriously, all you actors out there, keep going, don't give up. I mean, I’ve been in this game for a long time, and this is one the biggest roles I’ve ever had in my career [on ‘Run the World’]. I’ve done film, I’ve done all these other things and I’ve had major peaks in my career. But just remember: it’s a marathon and not a sprint.”